Words: Michael Flynn

Olympic FC secured their first three points of the campaign, defeating Sunshine Coast FC 2-1 at a rain-soaked Kawana Soccer Club on Sunday.

Costa Psaros and Michael Lee both struck either side of the half hour to give the visitors a two goal advantage at half-time.

Tim Hollingworth struck in the second half for Fire, however it ultimately wasn’t enough to prevent Fire from suffering their second straight PlayStation® 4 NPL Queensland defeat.

A cagey beginning from both sides saw few clear-cut chances in the opening exchanges.

Olympic striker Tim Smits delivered the first genuine attempt on goal when he saw his headed attempt saved by Fire goalkeeper Dale Hill on the quarter hour.

Heavy rain across the weekend made the pitch soft underfoot and put paid to an attacking raid from Fire’s Reyze Kelly as he slipped in a good position midway through the half.

Another Smits header was denied by Hill before the Olympic player turned provider - delivering a cutback on 25 minutes for Psaros, who tapped home from close range to open accounts.

Arnison forced a save from Olympic goalkeeper Matt Acton before the visitors doubled their advantage - Lee heading home after being found by Kazuya Ito’s cross.

Fire sought a reply through Jonathan Ladic and Kenya Takahashi but former Hyundai A-League goalkeeper Acton repeatedly proved up to task in the Olympic goalmouth.

After the restart both sides battled for ascendency in the midfield, with genuine chances again proving elusive as the rain intensified.

Fire finally found a way past Acton just prior to the hour to halve the margin - Hollingworth tapping home a low cross from close range.

Substitute Mustafa Jafari shot into the side netting as Olympic sought more breathing space late in the half before Danny Byrne saw his shot rattle the crossbar in the final stages.

Ultimately, Olympic did enough to secure their first three points of the season following two straight draws.

Speaking post-match, Fire player-coach Arnison lamented his side’s errors despite being generally pleased with the performance.

“If we keep giving silly mistakes away we’re going to concede goals. So if we cut out the silly mistakes at one end and take our chances at the other end then we’ll start picking up the wins pretty quickly,” Arnison said.

Olympic skipper Byrne said he was happy to get the win and said the smaller playing surface at Kawana Soccer Club altered the way the team approached the match.

“It’s a smaller pitch and, to be honest, it’s brought the game a level down I think. It suited them more than it suited us but a win’s a win, so three points in the bag and we move on to next week,” he said.

Sunshine Coast FC  1 (Tim HOLLINGWORTH 58’)
Olympic FC  2 (Costa PSAROS 25’, Michael LEE 33’)